updated 11:48 am EDT, Thu March 28, 2013

Testers to get free deliveries from local stores for online orders

Google has opened up testing for a same-day delivery service in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a view to opening up the project to other areas in the future. The previously rumored service, Google Shopping Express, is offering testers a six-month period of deliveries from retailers in the area at no charge, with all shopping taking place in a single online store.

Testers will be able to select from a number of local stores, including independent shops as well as large chains like Target, Walgreens, and Staples, states a company blog post. The deliveries are then dispatched for a specific time, based upon submitted delivery instructions. A long-term pricing scheme is still being worked out by Google, but it is thought by TechCrunchto cost below $70 per year, directly competing with Amazon Prime.

Google is not the only company working on offering a same-day delivery service. Auction site eBay has experimented with same-day deliveries through it iOS app, while the US Postal Service have also looked at a similar service under the brand "Metro Post."